 Mohammad Islam, son of late Haji Naib Ali, son of late Haji Naib Ali, son of deceased Haji Naib Ali, Ward No. 4, Ward No. 14, Nabipur East Union, Muradnagar Upazila, Comilla District, wants to work for the development of the country. expatriate income There are more than 12 million Bangladeshi workers in 168 countries of the world as government officials. When the money earned by sweat and labor comes to the country, we call it expatriate income or remittance. How important their remittances are for the economy of Bangladesh has been proven during the global pandemic caused by the coronavirus. Even in the current global unprecedented socio-economic-political crisis that started immediately after Corona, the foreign currency sent by expatriates is the biggest asset of Bangladesh.
He also said that after the neighboring country Sri Lanka was declared an economically bankrupt state, this remittance shows our hope in the fear that has arisen about the future of Bangladesh’s economy after the global bankruptcy panic spread. The Global Knowledge Partnership and Development, a multilateral trust fund established by the World Bank, recently reported that Bangladesh received 22 billion or 2,000 billion dollars or 1,84,840 billion dollars (1 dollar = 84 taka) in remittances or expatriate income in 2020. As a result, Bangladesh moved up one step from 2019 to seventh place in 2020 among low-middle income countries. But we are still far behind in improving their skills. All the problems of expatriates cannot be written down. Their suffering begins at home. Most of the remittance fighters are semi-educated or illiterate people from the villages. Brokers hide the hardships of expatriate life and lure them abroad with dreams of high salaries, air-conditioned workplaces and luxurious living. Then by talking about passport, police clearance, medical examination, visa, immigration, smart card and air fare, etc.
Simple people go abroad and go through hardships. Only two banks in the country offer loans to expatriates – the state-owned Commercial Bank Agrani and the private Pravasi Kalyan Bank. The loans provided by them are also less than required. The cost of sending workers from Bangladesh is also higher than other countries. In 2018, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) released information that Bangladesh’s migration costs are the highest in the world after a survey. According to the organization, it goes up to Tk 7 lakh for male workers and Tk 95 thousand for female workers. Based on the data of 2017, the international research organization Migration Data Portal said that it costs an Indian worker to get a job in Qatar, the Middle East, which costs 1,156 dollars or 1 lakh taka, which he can earn in two months.
A Nepali spends 1,888 dollars or 95,000 taka, which is three months’ income. The lowest cost is for workers in the Philippines, which is only 414 dollars or 36 thousand taka, which they earn in a month. On the other hand, Bangladeshi workers go to Qatar by spending 5 to 7 lakh taka and start working at a low salary of 15-20-25 thousand taka. It takes years for him to earn money equivalent to such immigration expenses. Bangladeshi workers are forced to live the lives of slaves despite the inhumane conditions at work places abroad. Because he had to go abroad after spending a lot of money. which he collects by selling land or by lending to NGOs at high interest rates.
Recruiting agencies are dependent on middlemen and brokers due to lack of proper monitoring and oversight by the government. Forced foreign travelers are also dependent on these middlemen. This situation needs an urgent end.
Work should be done from the beginning of expatriate life to alleviate the suffering of expatriates. Adequate flow of information about immigration should be ensured, so that common people do not fall into the trap of brokers. Human traffickers must be strictly dealt with. Care should be taken to eliminate brokers or middlemen. Adequate credit should be provided for expatriates. Programs should be taken to convert the labor force of the country into skilled labor force. They should be trained through various programs.
Priority should be given to the skilled to maintain the flow of remittances. Extreme suffering in coming and going to the airport should be removed. Separate channels should be established at the country’s airports for the movement of expatriates. They are the ones who must ensure all the necessary facilities in view of the vitality of our economy. Immigration costs should be reduced. In case of migration under bilateral agreement, the expenditure should be in the interest of the person going abroad. Over 10,000 diaspora wings should be established in diaspora-dominated countries in the next five years to alleviate their suffering in diaspora. Embassies and missions should serve the country and the economy with a sense of importance.
